Dakota County
County record. Includes every city and agency within Dakota County.
Technology presence
What these categories mean
- ALPR
- Automated license plate readers (ALPR): camera systems that automatically capture, read, and log vehicle license plates with location and time, producing a searchable record of vehicle movements.
- Fixed cameras & RTCC
- Agency-operated fixed video cameras and the real-time crime centers (RTCC) that aggregate live and recorded feeds for monitoring. Extends the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas, which enumerates real-time crime centers and camera registries but not standalone fixed-camera estates.
- Face recognition
- Software that matches faces in images or video against a reference database to identify or verify individuals.
- Drones / UAS
- Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones, operated by an agency for overhead observation, imaging, or sensing.
- Gunshot detection
- Networks of acoustic sensors that detect and locate suspected gunfire and alert an agency.
- Body-worn & dashcam
- Officer body-worn and in-vehicle dashboard cameras that record encounters; public access to the footage is frequently restricted.
- Doorbell & camera registry
- Programs that give an agency access to privately owned camera footage: doorbell-camera partnerships, citizen camera registries, and private-camera integration platforms.
- Cell-site simulators
- Devices that mimic cell towers to locate or identify nearby mobile phones. They are often called Stingrays, or IMSI catchers after the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number that identifies each phone on a network. Adjacent: communications surveillance outside the visual/sensor core.
- Predictive policing
- Software that forecasts where crime may occur or who may be involved, to direct policing. Adjacent: analytics rather than a sensing deployment.
- Social-media monitoring
- Tools that collect and analyze public social-media activity for an agency. Adjacent: open-source/communications monitoring outside the visual/sensor core.
The record, by agency
Eagan Police Department
The Eagan Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MN Department of Public Safety
The Eagan Police Department spent $5000 on its unmanned aerial vehicle program in 2023 and flew a drone 127 times without a warrant that year.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
Rosemount Police Department
The Rosemount Police Department uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): MN Department of Public Safety
The Rosemount Police Department uses Axon Body 3 body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Rosemount Police Department's Facebook PageRosemount Police Department
South St. Paul Police Department
The South St. Paul Police Department has 44 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of South St. Paul - South St. Paul Police DepartmentLocal Government Information Systems (LOGIS)Local Government Information Systems (LOGIS)Minn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
The South St. Paul Police Department disclosed to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that it uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Bureau of Criminal ApprehensionLOGIS
Dakota County Sheriff's Office
The Dakota County Sheriff's Office has 147 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Dakota County - Dakota County Sheriff's OfficeLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
The Dakota County Sheriff's Office spent over $18,000 on drones in 2023.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Department of Public SafetyMinnesota Bureau of Criminal ApprehensionCenter for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
The Dakota County Sheriff's Office operates eight automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): State of Minnesota
Hastings Police Department
The Hastings Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Hastings Police DepartmentCity of Hastings Facebook page
Lakeville Police Department
The Lakeville Police Department has 83 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2024 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Lakeville - Lakeville Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesCity of Lakeville - Lakeville Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke Consulting
West Saint Paul Police Department
The West Saint Paul Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2023 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of West Saint Paul - West Saint Paul Police DepartmentMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesMinnesota Security Consortium (MNSec)Minn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
The West Saint Paul Police Department disclosed to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that it uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Bureau of Criminal ApprehensionLOGIS
Mendota Heights Police Department
The Mendota Heights Police Department has 23 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2023 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Mendota Heights - Mendota Heights Police DepartmentLocal Government Information Systems (LOGIS)City of Mendota Heights - Mendota Heights Police DepartmentLocal Government Information Systems (LOGIS)
Inver Grove Heights Police Department
The Inver Grove Heights Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2022 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Inver Grove HeightsMinnesota Security Consortium (MNSec)City of Inver Grove HeightsMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesMinnesota Security Consortium (MNSec)
The Inver Grove Heights Police Department disclosed to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that it uses automated license plate readers.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minnesota Bureau of Criminal ApprehensionInfosec Associates
Apple Valley Police Department
The Apple Valley Police Department has 25 Panasonic body-worn cameras, according to a 2021 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Apple Valley - Apple Valley Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data Practices
Farmington Police Department
The Farmington Police Department has 20 Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2021 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): City of Farmington - Farmington Police DepartmentLynn Lembcke ConsultingMinn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesOffice of the State Auditor
Burnsville Police Department
The Burnsville Police Department uses Axon body-worn cameras, according to a 2020 audit.
Sources (via the EFF Atlas): Minn. Legislature - Legislative Commission on Data PracticesOffice of the State AuditorOffice of the State Auditor
Source: EFF Atlas of Surveillance (Electronic Frontier Foundation & University of Nevada, Reno — Reynolds School of Journalism) · CC BY 4.0 · retrieved July 2026